Fukuyama Castle Museum

Learn about the history of Fukuyama Castle and the Fukuyama Domain through valuable document displays and a wealth of hands-on content

  • Cultural Spaces
  • The floor for Katsunari Mizuno and the Mizuno family, where many of the interactive content items that are the highlight of the renovation will be located (left: "First Spear Race", right: "Spear Photo Spot")

    The floor for Katsunari Mizuno and the Mizuno family, where many of the interactive content items that are the highlight of the renovation will be located (left: "First Spear Race", right: "Spear Photo Spot")

  • The first thing you see upon arriving at the museum is the stone wall theater at the entrance. You will be greeted by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Mizuno Katsunari, and Abe Masahiro, all of whom are associated with Fukuyama Castle.

    The first thing you see upon arriving at the museum is the stone wall theater at the entrance. You will be greeted by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Mizuno Katsunari, and Abe Masahiro, all of whom are associated with Fukuyama Castle.

  • Spear photo spot: A long spear from the time when Mizuno Katsunari was alive is reproduced, including its weight. You can actually try lifting it.

    Spear photo spot: A long spear from the time when Mizuno Katsunari was alive is reproduced, including its weight. You can actually try lifting it.

  • Introduction Theater: "The Story of Fukuyama Castle" is shown, introducing how Katsunari Mizuno built Fukuyama Castle.

    Introduction Theater: "The Story of Fukuyama Castle" is shown, introducing how Katsunari Mizuno built Fukuyama Castle.

  • First Spear Race: Experience the "First Spear" feat of Katsunari Mizuno, who was the first to arrive at the enemy castle, Osaka Castle, during the Summer Siege of Osaka, with historical facts.

    First Spear Race: Experience the "First Spear" feat of Katsunari Mizuno, who was the first to arrive at the enemy castle, Osaka Castle, during the Summer Siege of Osaka, with historical facts.

  • Matchlock Gun Experience: This content is based on the historical fact that Mizuno Katsunari test-fired a matchlock gun in his later years and successfully hit a target 20 ken (36.4 m) away, and shows how difficult it is to hit a target with a matchlock gun.

    Matchlock Gun Experience: This content is based on the historical fact that Mizuno Katsunari test-fired a matchlock gun in his later years and successfully hit a target 20 ken (36.4 m) away, and shows how difficult it is to hit a target with a matchlock gun.

  • Abe Masahiro and the Bakumatsu Quiz: Have fun while deepening your understanding through quizzes about Abe Masahiro's achievements and the Bakumatsu period

    Abe Masahiro and the Bakumatsu Quiz: Have fun while deepening your understanding through quizzes about Abe Masahiro's achievements and the Bakumatsu period

  • Fukuyama Castle Theater: Look back on the history of Fukuyama Castle in a dynamic three-sided theater

    Fukuyama Castle Theater: Look back on the history of Fukuyama Castle in a dynamic three-sided theater

  • Fukuyama Castle Museum
  • The first thing you see upon arriving at the museum is the stone wall theater at the entrance. You will be greeted by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Mizuno Katsunari, and Abe Masahiro, all of whom are associated with Fukuyama Castle.
  • Spear photo spot: A long spear from the time when Mizuno Katsunari was alive is reproduced, including its weight. You can actually try lifting it.
  • Introduction Theater: "The Story of Fukuyama Castle" is shown, introducing how Katsunari Mizuno built Fukuyama Castle.
  • First Spear Race: Experience the "First Spear" feat of Katsunari Mizuno, who was the first to arrive at the enemy castle, Osaka Castle, during the Summer Siege of Osaka, with historical facts.
  • Matchlock Gun Experience: This content is based on the historical fact that Mizuno Katsunari test-fired a matchlock gun in his later years and successfully hit a target 20 ken (36.4 m) away, and shows how difficult it is to hit a target with a matchlock gun.
  • Abe Masahiro and the Bakumatsu Quiz: Have fun while deepening your understanding through quizzes about Abe Masahiro's achievements and the Bakumatsu period
  • Fukuyama Castle Theater: Look back on the history of Fukuyama Castle in a dynamic three-sided theater

Photography: Taira Kurihara

About the Project

Overview This six-story museum was renovated to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the construction of Fukuyama Castle. There are exhibition rooms inside the castle tower, and the top floor is an observation deck with a 360-degree view of Fukuyama City. The museum is made up of exhibits on Fukuyama Castle itself, a floor dedicated to the Mizuno family, centered around Mizuno Katsunari, the first lord of Fukuyama Castle, a floor dedicated to the Abe family, centered around Abe Masahiro, who later became the lord, and a theater floor with immersive Video Production.
Issues/Themes To make the facility a central part of Tourism in Fukuyama, attracting not only people who like history or castles, but a wide range of people from all walks of life and in all sorts of situations.
Space Solution/Realization With Fukuyama Castle as the central focus, we controlled the design with the keyword "breaking new ground" in mind, inspired by two great feudal lords who paved the way for a new era: Mizuno Katsunari, who lived through a turbulent era from warlord of the Sengoku period to becoming the lord of a castle and province, and Abe Masahiro, a key figure in opening up Japan to the world at the end of the Edo period.
While keeping the traditional document-centered exhibits, the museum has added Video has also attempted to introduce new items such as the "First Spear Race," where visitors can experience being the "first spear" during the siege of Osaka Castle, and the "Match with 87-year-old Katsunari - Matchlock Gun Experience," where visitors can experience the difficulty of handling a matchlock gun based on the historical fact that he test-fired a matchlock gun in his later years and hit a target. The renovation into an experience-based exhibition facility has led to the attraction of new customer groups such as families and couples.
Design for Environment Universal design: All exhibition spaces are barrier-free. Elevators were installed during the construction work for this renovation, allowing more people to visit. Graphics and Video are also displayed in multiple languages, allowing the exhibition to be enjoyed by many people.
Safety design: We strive to prevent injuries from accidental collisions by eliminating sharp edges, such as the edges of fixtures, as much as possible. In addition, to ensure the safety of large fixtures in the event of an earthquake, we conduct structural verification before designing.
Cultural property Preservation Planning: High-standard display cases are used. In the future, we plan to borrow valuable cultural property materials from other museums and hold topical special exhibitions.

Basic Information

Client Fukuyama City
Services Provided Facility Concept Planning, Display Planning, Design, Layout, Production, Construction, Project Management
Our Team Overall Direction: Go Kato
Design Direction: Ryo Takai
Design, Layout: Koshiro Takeshima
Production, Construction: Naoki Torimaru
Video Direction: Tatsuro Shiota, Tansei Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Project Management: Shuji Ozaki
Location Hiroshima Prefecture
Open August 2022
Website https://fukuyamajo.jp/
Tag
Ryo Takai

Design Direction

Ryo Takai

He designs mainly for museums, including history, culture, and ethnography museums, science museums, corporate museums, and manga exhibitions. He strives to propose memorable exhibitions from the visitors' perspective.

*The shared information and details of the project is accurate as of the date they were posted. There may have been unannounced changes at a later date.

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